How Anal Are You...

[skinautique]

about your boat? Is anyone interested in an article about tips and tricks to making your maintenance on your boat easier? Maybe a list of supplies that clean better than others and steps that work easier than others?

[beek0040]

:D Hi,

I just bought my first ski nautique. A ski nautique from 1993 with a pcm 5,8 HO and only 385 hours.

I want to clean the boat inside out, some help in how to do this step by step would be really interresting and helpfull

Greetings from the Netherlands

Geert

[tryan]

i wipe the exterior down after each use. ( UNUSED disposable diapers work great , but i am sure that won't be on the list ).

i don't think i have ever cleaned the interior.

[Hollywood]

We take good care of the exterior, but didn't even vacuum the interior once all summer. It certainly isn't "trashed, but far dirtier than I like it.

[Onthewater]

I don't believe in cleaning the interior all that often. Sand/dirt/grass comes in and then just leaves on somebody elses feet. We just wipe down the seats before covering it. Scrub the bilge at the end of the year and wash/polish/wax once a year. It gets the hull wipe down a few times during the summer. I'd rather make sure the mechanics of it work and have more fun skiing/riding than taking time to wipe and clean everything.

[lcap]

Tips, tricks and products (that work) would be most appreciated!

[skinautique]

I put another post in this section with some things that work well for me. See if that helps you out.

[seven20]

clean the exterior, keep engine and bilge clean, but don't really take too good of care of the interior, but i am going to replace the carpet in a month anyway so that is why i wasn't worried about it 8)

[AbunDiga909]

I wash our old WaveRunner a lot and that is easy, but Nautiques are harder.(Selling it for a Nautique!) But when there is any doubt that the boat is not clean enough for you, ask yourself if you would lick it! :lol:

[Johnsongc]

I hate to admit it but I bought my 2001 Ski Nautique in Feb of 02 and wax it every 6 months, detail the exterior and interior after every couple of trips (wipe down every time), and follow every maintenance tip I can get my hands on. One item I could use some advice on is the carpet. My boat gets a lot of use and the carpets look o.k. but not great. I have tried to shampoo them, but in a boat that small it is tough to do a good job. Any thoughts on how to keep the carpet looking good? Is there some kind of a dry chemical that can be scrubed into the carpet and vacumed out? I suppose I am extremely anal, but I also want to keep the resale value up as high as possible.

Thanks,
Greg

[wake_fun]

I have heard to take your boat to a do it yourself car wash and use that spray gun to get your carpet REALLY clean. Then just drain all the water out the bilge........I haven't tried it personally, yet 8)

[NautiqueChick]

We used a product called DeckSwabs on our carpet, its a dry chemical that you just brush into the carpet and then vaccum it up. We got it off the internet, I don't remember what site, but you should beable to find it doing a internet search.

[FUN-9C1]

Pretty anal. I wash and vacuum it after each use, wipe down the seats and chamois it. My sister got mad at me because I asked her to take her shoes off if she's going to put her feet on the motor box.... and the only reason I allow shoes is because the carpet is well worn. When I get a new one, there will be no shoes allowed!! I've dreamed of owning a Nautique for 20 years. I worked my *** off for it and plan on keeping it till I die.

[BigBald]

Somewhat anal on the cleaning, but very anal about prevention. We don't allow shoes in the boat, except for sandal that come off quckly. Don't allow anything but water to drink. No snacks or other food items. We just make a run to the dock for snacks. Most folks are OK. In fact they forget to get hungry.

Try to do a wipe down on the exterior each use. Try to vacuum the interior once a month or every 5 to 6 uses. I am still trying to figure out a good way to clean the carpet. Thought maybe a scrub brush and some carpet cleaning solution?

Also, I am still trying to get a good system for letting the interior dry. I lift the seats up to allow for some air flow...I wait a bit to cover it....etc. Anybody else got any ideas? I have a 1988 SN, but I am upgrading soon to a 1999 Sport Nautique.

[skinautique]

"Use a 50% solution of bleech and water. Let the bleach sit for 10 minutes or so, scrub carpet with stiff bruch and rinse with cold water. Make sure you rinse it well. Pay special attention not to get any bleach on seats or stitching. Boat carpet is a solution dyed olefin yarn that can withstand harsh chemicals, it wil remove most stains and ALL molds and mildews. I work for one of the largest carpet manufacturers in the world and can tell you that this is safe for the carpet and it does work!"

Here is a carpet solution for you guys as long as you follow the instructions well. Got it from a guy with a nautique over on Wakeboarder.com

As far as drying out the interior, your best bet is to towel down every seat including in the cracks and lifting cushions, etc. I prop all of my seats up and have never had a problem. I kept a boat for 9 years and it never had any of the yuck trapped inbetween any of the cushions.

[AbunDiga909]

I've dreamed of owning a Nautique for 20 years.

22 years and ending this summer!!!

Does anyone use 303 on their boat? I saw some guy using it at an INT literally all over his boat...hull...interior..gellcoat...carpet...dash.. .upholstry...everything...It kinda gave the boat a nice shine. I see that everyone baby's thier boat..but trailer wise??? I wash the trailer..not as extensively, but i take a soapy thing and take all the dirt off of it and...i put armor all on the trailer tires!

[AbunDiga909]

I work for one of the largest carpet manufacturers in the world and can tell you that this is safe for the carpet and it does work!

Ski's occupation is revealed! lol.... :lol:

[NautiqueJeff]

I use 303 on my interior. I have been reading some things on their website about using it on the gelcoat, and I might give that a try this summer. With my boat being black, I really worry about fading. Since 303 is supposed to be a great UV blocker, it might be just wat I need. Has anyone else used it successfully on the gelcoat?

[skinautique]

I work for one of the largest carpet manufacturers in the world and can tell you that this is safe for the carpet and it does work!

Ski's occupation is revealed! lol.... :lol:

AbunDiga -
Read a little closer. It says that this is a quote from a different guy on Wakeboarder.com
Not my occupation. Sorry!

[FUN-9C1]

I see that everyone baby's thier boat..but trailer wise??? I wash the trailer..not as extensively, but i take a soapy thing and take all the dirt off of it and...i put armor all on the trailer tires!

Yeah I wash the trailer like every 3,4,5 uses, whatever. I hate the way my trailer looks. It's gray to match the boat but to me it looks like faded black. I'm thinking of rigging up a way to hang my boat in the garage so I can put new bunk carpet and paint it a nice shiny black. :) Maybe some black wheels and white letter tires would look sweet, too... 8)

[AbunDiga909]

I work for one of the largest carpet manufacturers in the world and can tell you that this is safe for the carpet and it does work!

Ski's occupation is revealed! lol.... :lol:

AbunDiga -
Read a little closer. It says that this is a quote from a different guy on Wakeboarder.com
Not my occupation. Sorry!

I knew those quotes were there for some reason! ****! lol...

Ya know when i frst joined the site i thought that he worked for CC cuz he knew everythign about everything and replied to pretty much everything..but he said he didn't work for them...But now i know what he does...hes a Maloon and owns the company! Either that or a MC dealer...lol...

I"m just giving you a hard time skinautique.... :wink:

[NautiqueChick]

303 is a great product, I use it on the interior all the time, it makes it look really nice. I have never tried it on the gelcoat though.

I only hose the trailer off once and awhile, my boat is in the water all summer, so we really only use the trailer twice, once to put it in and once to get it out. The only other time the trailer is used is when we take a trip and take the boat.

[bbc3]

When our fam had a '92 Excel we always kept it pretty clean. Wipe down every time, life cushions and dry-out before covering, etc. Over 11 years, the boat stayed in amazing condition. People would ask, "What year is that?" we'd say "A 92" as their jaws would drop. When we decided to order our '04 we wanted to sell the '92 instead of trading it in. I spent an entire week at the end of the summer prepping the boat to sell. I ordered a bunch of products from Meguiar's to get the job done. (I only use Meguiar's products on my car, which I'm extremely anal about). Stripped off the 11 yr old decals, buffed the entire boat with Heavy-Oxidation remover (to get out the hard water spots), installed new decals, applied polish (important b/c it replenishes essential oils to the gelcoat before waxing), and finished with 2 coats of wax. This boat looked PHENOMENAL! The color was super deep, and the boat looked like a mirror. When we test drove some people, the water beaded up everywhere you looked, which makes wiping down at the end of the day a cinch. For the interior I used Meguiar's Vinyl Cleaner/Conditioner. This is a lot like 303 (uv protection, etc) but for some reason I like it better. The boat seriously looked like we had just brought it home from the showroom.

Wow...sorry about the novel everyone...i guess my point is: if you're looking for ways to care for your boat...give Meguiar's a try. They definitely made a believer out of me and they are the only products that will be used on our '04 SANTE. Cheers!